The Heroes of Olympus: Alternate Universe
by SwordxPen
Summary: Percy and Jason were not the ones who were switched, instead it was Reyna and Annabeth. How does this change the heroes' paths, relationships, and stories as we know them?
1. TLH: Reyna I

**The Lost Hero: Reyna I**

Even before she nearly fell to her death, Reyna was having a pretty rotten day.

She had woken up in the backseat of a grimy school bus, startling upwards, feeling as if she had been doused with a bucket of ice cold water. All within a matter of seconds, there were three things she was absolutely sure of-

First- She was holding hands with a boy she couldn't identify, surround by another couple dozen of kids she also couldn't identify. The boy's posture was slouched, meshing comfortably into her side in a relaxed fashion, revealing this was neither a new nor strange situation for the two them. And with the loud chatter filling the dry atmosphere, bits of laughter and gossip reaching her ears instead of sniveling tears and panicked whispers, she was pretty sure that she was not being kidnapped with these kids.

Second- She had no idea where this bus was or where it was going. The desert rolled by in smooth mounds, the bus speeding way too fast on the lumpy road and leaving a trail of dust billowing out behind them. The sun was in the center of the sky, glaring down with a surprisingly cool heat, reflecting off the sand dunes and onto her face.

And third - She had absolutely no idea who she was. Her mind was devoid of any memories, just a foggy haze that loomed where her life should have been. No name, no age, nothing.

She tried to think back… the last thing she remembered was…

The boy squeezed her hand, a low chuckle sliding through his lips. "Welcome back to the land of the living, Reyna."

Reyna? Was he referring to her? It did have a familiar ring to it… but she drew up a blank. She shook her head in a last ditch effort to jostle any information back into place, but failed miserably, and focused her attention to the boy.

The only thing she could think of was a Latino elf, with curly black hair, pointy ears, a cheerful face, and a mischievous smile that told you right away that this guy was not to be trusted. His long nimble fingers on his right hand were tapping an imaginary beat onto the seat in front of them, his other hand was entwined with hers and he was bouncing slightly in the seat as if he couldn't bare to stay still. Either he was hopped up on way too much sugar or was seriously ADHD.

Renya snatched her hand away from him and he stared at her in confusion.

In the front of the bus, the adult shouted, "Alright, cup cakes, listen up!"

This guy was obviously the person of authority around here. His buff arms bulged against his bright orange polo shirt, as vibrant as a construction cone, it was almost too hard to look at. A whistle hung at his neck and a megaphone was clipped to his side - a teacher maybe? Was this a school trip?

With beady eyes, a wispy goatee and a sour face, Reyna might have considered him intimidating if it weren't for the fact that he was so embarrassingly short. When he stood up in the aisle, his head barely passed the top of the seats. One of the students called, "Stand up, Coach Hedge!"

Coach. So this was a school trip, and these kids were students. _She_ was a student. By the look of the age of the group she was fairly young too. Fifteen or sixteen at most.

"I heard that!" The coach scanned the bus for the offender. Then his eyes narrowed on Reyna, and his scowled deepened.

A jolt went down Reyna's spine. She was sure the coach knew she didn't belong there. He was going to call her out, demand to know what she was doing on the bus- and Reyna wouldn't have a clue what to say. She braced herself for the questions, lies rapidly forming at her lips.

But Coach Hedge merely glanced away, cleared his throat, and continued. "We'll arrive in five minutes! Stay with your partner. Don't lose your worksheet. And if any of you precious little cupcakes causes any trouble on this trip, I will personally send you back to campus the hard way."

On that happy note, he sat back down and Reyna turned to the boy beside her.

There were either two things she could do- she could try to keep up with the charade presented before her. But she had little information on that side, not nearly enough to act like her 'apparent self'. With only her name and clues she had picked up from their body language and conversations she would not last long as the girl they knew her as, _especially_ if they tried talking to her.

No. That only left her with the other option- take the situation head on and demand answers. She narrowed her eyes at the boy. If he really was a close friend, _or boyfriend_, he was her safest bet.

"Who are you?"

His cheerful smile faltered a bit as confusion swept over his face. "What do you mean?"

Had she not been direct enough? Perhaps he needed more clarification. "I don't know you."

This feeling came naturally to her - control of the situation, the conversation lead by her. She was direct and to the point. She knew she must have assumed the role of an interrogator often but for what reason she had no idea. Either way, she felt a swell of confidence.

"Sure you do." He grinned, apparently deciding that she was joking. "I'm the one and only Leo Valdez, boyfriend extraordinaire."

The boy, Leo, then jerked his thumb over to the girl sitting in the seat in front of them. She was seriously pretty, with chocolate brown hair cut choppy and uneven, with thin strands braided down the sides. Her eyes were like a kaleidoscope, changing colors with each flash of light. Currently they were a warm brown, sparkling with a soft cheeriness. "And that's Piper, our very own thief."

Leo cupped his fingers around his mouth, and whispered to Reyna conspiratorially in a not-so-quiet tone. "She likes to take BMWs."

Piper blushed. "I didn't steal that car, Leo!"

"Oh, I forgot, Piper. What was your story? You 'talked' the dealer into lending it to you?" He raised his eyebrows at Reyna like, _Can you believe her?_

Reyna shifted uncomfortably, her bravado dying quickly under their attention and panic taking it's place. "Seriously. Who are you? Where are we going?"

"Leo Valdez!" Coach Hedge yelled from the front. "Problem back there?"

Leo grinned at Reyna. "Watch this." He turned to the front. "Sorry, Coach! I was having trouble hearing you. Could you use your megaphone, please?"

Coach Hedge grunted like he was pleased to have an excuse and Reyna resisted the urge to cover her ears. He snatched the megaphone into his meaty grip and continued giving directions, but his voice came out like Darth Vader's. The kids burst out with laughter. The coach tried again, but the megaphone blared: "The cow says moo!"

The kids howled, and Hedge slammed down the megaphone. "Valdez!"

Piper wiped the tears from her eyes and stifled a laugh. "My god, Leo. How did you do that?"

Leo winked at the girls, and revealed a tiny screwdriver from his sleeve. "I'm just amazing like that."

"Seriously." Reyna pleaded. "I don't know who you are."

Piper eyed her weirdly. "Reyna, are you joking?"

"Aw, yeah, she's joking." Leo said. "She's trying to get me back for that shaving cream on the Jell-O thing, aren't you?"

Reyna stared at them both, dumb-founded. What kind of life did she have?

"No, you aren't kidding are?" Piper reached over the seat with her hand, as if to check Reyna's forehead for her temperature, but Reyna flinched back out of reach.

"I'm not joking. I don't remember-"

"That's it!" Coach Hedge screeched. "The back now has just volunteered to clean up for lunch!"

The other kids cheered.

But Leo was peering at her with real worry now. "Are you okay? Did you hit your head or something? You really don't know who we are?"

Reyna stared at her hands helplessly, the honest truth slipping from her lips. "It's worse than that. I don't know who _I _am."

* * *

><p>They were dropped off in front of a huge red stucco museum, sitting in the smack middle of nowhere. Reyna decided that she was apparently stupid, because she did not dress accordingly to the weather. Despite being in a desert, a cold wind washed over them and she was not prepared with her thin skinny jeans and purple T-shirt.<p>

Leo must of noticed that too, and draped his jacket over her shoulders before she could refuse. "So, crash course for the amnesiac."

"We go to a Wilderness school-" Leo started off in a helpful tone that told Reyna he was not going to be very helpful.

"That's just a fancy way of saying we're delinquents." Piper chimed in.

"Your family or the court, or whoever, decided you were too much trouble, so they shipped you off to this lovely prison-"

"Boarding School" Piper corrected.

"-In Armpit, Nevada,where you learn valuable nature skills like running ten miles a day through cacti and weaving daisies into hats! And for special treats we go on 'educational' field trips with Coach Hedge, who keeps order with a baseball bat. Is it coming back to you?"

Despite his sarcastic, carefree demeanor, the worry was clear beneath his tone. He obviously cared for her a lot. Or what he thought was her at least.

"No." Reyna glanced apprehensively at the other kids and did a quick head count. Thirty-two students in all, including the three of them, twenty guys, twelve girls. None of them looked like criminals but she knew that looks were deceiving. Reyna wondered what she did to end up in a place like this.

Leo scoffed. "You're really gonna play this out, huh? I'm surprised Reyna, we really have grown on you. Okay, so the three of us started here together this semester. You answer to my every will and do everything I say and do my chores-"

"Leo!" Piper scolded in such a way that told that this happened often.

"Fine. I'm surprised you haven't kicked my ass yet, Reyna." He continued on a more serious note. "We _are_ friends, though. Well, I'm a little more than your friend, the last few weeks-"

Piper slapped a hand over Leo's mouth and Reyna silently thanked her to the high heavens. "That's enough Leo, I don't need to know about your love life."

"I think Reyna has amnesia or something," Piper glanced at her worriedly. "We should tell somebody."

Leo's face grew conflicted for a moment, but he shook his head. "Who, Coach Hedge? He'd try to fix Reyna by whacking her upside the head."

Piper persisted. "Leo, Reyna needs help. She's got a confusion or-"

"Yo, Piper, Reyna." One of the other guys dropped back to join them as the group was heading into the museum. The new guy wedged himself between Reyna and Piper, and knocked Leo to the ground. "Don't talk to this loser. You girls are my partners, remember?"

Reyna glared up at him and his self entitled face. He had dark, close cut hair, a deep tan, and teeth so vibrantly white they put Coach Hedge's sneakers to shame. Reyna shoved his arm from her shoulder and resisted the urge to kick him where the sun doesn't shine.

"Go away, Dylan." Piper grumbled. "We didn't ask to work with you."

Leo scrambled to his feet, his face red with a mixture of embarrassment and fury. "Leave my girlfriend alone."

"Hey!"

"And Piper." He amended.

But Dylan was already walking away with Piper in tow, his hand firmly enclosed around her arm. "Ah, that's no way to be, Leo, but you can have your girl. This is your lucky day, Piper!"

Leo scowled and brushed himself off. "I hate that guy." He moved to drape an arm around her waist, but at her dead glare, Leo smoothly masked the action into a motion of exasperation. "I'm Dylan. I'm so cool, I want to date myself, but can't figure out how! You want to date me instead? You're so lucky!"

"Leo," Reyna sighed, pressing her fingers to her temples. "You're giving me a headache."

"Yeah, you tell me that a lot." Leo grinned, flashing his dimples. "Come my fair madden, let us explore the Museum and rescue Piper from Dylan."

Reyna concluded that if this was her boyfriend, her life must be pretty messed up.

* * *

><p>Reyna decided that Coach Hedge was very loud no matter the situation. They trampled through the building like a herd of bulls in a china shop, Coach Hedge stopping here and there to lecture them with his megaphone, which kept Leo giggling like a toddler every time it malfunctioned.<p>

Reyna didn't bother to pay attention to the exhibits, but summarized that they were at the Grand Canyon, learning about the Hualapai tribe.

She narrowed her eyes at the group of girls that kept looking over at Piper and Dylan and snickering. Even with her memories missing, it was easy to see these girls were up to no good.

One of them said, "Hey, Piper, does your tribe run this place? Do you get in free if you do a rain dance?"

Reyna stiffened as the other girls laughed, her fists clenching at her sides.

Piper replied evenly, her voice taut. "My dad's Cherokee. Not Hualapai. 'Course, you'd need a few brain cells to know the difference, Isabel."

Isabel widened her eyes in mock surprise, so that she looked like an owl with a makeup addiction. "Oh, sorry! Was your mom in this tribe? Oh, that's right. You never knew your mom."

Piper lunged at her, but before a fight could start, Coach Hedged barked, "Enough back there! Set a good example or I'll break out my baseball bat!"

Apparently, Coach's word was not law, for the girls kept calling out little comments as they wondered through the exhibits. Ironically, Piper was doing a better job at ignoring them than Reyna was. She might not even remember who she was, but Reyna knew for certain that she hated bullies. She stalked forward.

Leo looped his arm around her waist. "Be cool. Piper doesn't like us fighting her battles. Besides, if those girls found out the truth about her dad, they'd be all bowing down to her and screaming, 'We're not worthy!'"

Reyna picked up enough to figure that Piper's dad was important figure, a politician maybe? But an important figure to teenage girls was something more along the lines of a singer, actor or model.

Reyna shook her head as they followed the group to the far end of the exhibit hall, where some large glass doors led out to a terrace.

"Alright, Cupcakes," Coach Hedge swung his bat with a dramatic flare. "You are about to see the Grand Canyon. Try not to break it. The skywalk can hold the weight of seventy jumbo jets, so you featherweights should be safe out there. If possible, try to avoid pushing each other over the edge, as that would cause me extra paperwork."

The coach opened the doors and led them outside. The Grand Canyon spread before them in a splash of rustic colors, disappearing far into the unseeable horizon. A horse-shoe shaped walkway made of glass extended over the edge, allowing you to see right through it.

"Man," Leo murmured. "That's pretty wicked."

Reyna couldn't disagree, the sight was truly one to behold. Not even her feelings of displacement could taint it.

They were so high up that birds circled bellow their feet cawing ominously in the grey afternoon. Storm clouds were rolling in over head, casting sad, looming faces onto the stone. Five hundred feet below, a river snaked through the canyon floor. It was as some crazy god had taken a knife to the desert, cutting red and gray ravines of artwork into the earth.

Reyna got a piercing pain behind her eyes. _Crazy Gods…_ It was as if she was close to something important, she should remember this. No, she _knew_ this. It was so close but untouchable. The distinct feeling of danger crept up her back.

Leo laid a worried hand on her shoulder. "Are you alright? You look a bit pale."

"Just a headache." Reyna spoke through clenched teeth. She grabbed the railing, cold and hot at the same time. She was suddenly up too high and she wanted nothing more than to get away from this place. The piercing pain faded.

"This can't be safe." Leo peered up at the sky. "Storm's right over us, but it's clear all the way around. Weird, huh?"

_Very Weird_, Reyna agreed, a bad feeling settling in the pit of her stomach.

"All right, cupcakes!" Coach Hedge yelled. He shifted uncomfortably at the storm, as if it bothered him just as much as it did her. "We may have to cut this short, so get to work! Remember, complete sentences!"

The storm rumbled, and Reyna's head began to hurt again. Her hand grasped at her hip, searching for something that wasn't there. She felt naked and bare, completely unprotected with her back to the world.

* * *

><p>Reyna was certain they failed the worksheet. Between the kid to hyper to stand still for two seconds and the amnesiac with a headache, neither party tried very hard in the first place. And when Leo made the sheet into a paper airplane and launched it over the edge, she honestly couldn't have cared less.<p>

Now he was tinkering with metal pipes cleaners. After a mere few minutes, Leo held out his hand and presented a hastily made helicopter.

Reyna was slightly impressed, although she didn't care to admit it out loud. She hardly expected it to work at all after he sent it over the edge, but to her surprise, the little blades spun and made it halfway over the abyss before plummeting into oblivion.

"Impressive." She nodded. "How did you do that?"

Leo shrugged nonchalantly but blushed under her praise. "Would've been cooler if I had some rubber bands."

"Seriously," Reyna cracked a smile for the first time that day. "Are we actually dating?"

"Last I checked."

"You sure?" She teased. "What was the first day we met? What did we talk about?"

"You told me if I didn't stop tapping my pencil on my desk that you would snap my fingers." He smiled fondly. "The rest of it is history, or should I say chemistry?"

Reyna snorted and punched his arm. "Don't let it go to your head."  
>Leo's smile faded. "Do you seriously not remember?"<p>

"No. I don't remember a thing. I don't remember anyone here. What if-"

"You're right and everyone else is wrong?" Leo asked. "You think you just appeared here this morning, and we've all got fake memories of you?"

_Yes, _she wanted to scream. _That's exactly what I think._

But that was illogical. That was against the statistics and very improbable… but not impossible. Everyone acted like she was a normal part of the class - all except for Coach Hedge.

"I'll be right back."

Before Leo could protest, Reyna headed across the skywalk. She marched up to Coach Hedge, who was resting against his baseball bat, studying the storm clouds.

"Did you do this?" He asked her.

Reyna faltered, her jaw locking. "Do what?" It sounded like the coach had just asked if she'd made the thunderstorm.

The little coach glared at her, his goat eyes glinting like beetles under the brim of his cap. "Don't play games with me, kid. What are you doing here, and why are you messing up my job?"

"You don't know me?" Reyna questioned, her suspicions confirmed. "I'm not one of your students?"

Hedge bleated. "Never seen you before today."

Reyna didn't know whether she wanted to cry or scream. She was relieved, but now she was terrified. She _was_ in the wrong place. She didn't belong here. "Look, sir, I don't know how I got here. I just woke up on the school bus. All I know is I'm not supposed to be here."

"Got that right." Hedge's voice was all but a grave murmur. "You got a powerful way with the Mist, girl, if you can make all these people think they know you; but you can't fool me. I've been smelling monsters for days now. I knew we had an infiltrator, but you don't smell like a monster. You smell like a half-blood. So- who are you, and where'd you come from?"

Reyna knew this wasn't the time to lie. "I don't know who I am. I don't have any memories. You have to help me."

Begging, she felt, was degrading but she was desperate. Coach Hedge studied her face, trying to decipher her thoughts.

"Great." Coach Hedge spat. "You're telling the truth."

"Of course I am! You say that like it's a bad thing! And what was all that about monsters and half-bloods? Are those code words or something?"

Hedge scowled. "Look, kid, I don't know who you are. I just know what you are, and it means trouble. Now I got to protect the three of you rather than two. Are you the special package? Is that it?"

"What are you talking about?" She cried.

"This morning," Hedge muttered. "I got a message from camp. They said an extraction team is on the way. They're coming to pick up a special package, but they wouldn't give me details. I thought to myself, Fine. The two I'm watching are pretty powerful, older than most. I know they're being stalked. I can smell a monster in the group. I figure that's why the camp is suddenly frantic to pick them up. But then you pop up out of nowhere. So, are you the special package?"

Reyna was positive someone was pressing her head between their hands, cracking her skull like an egg and turning her brain to mush. _Camp. Monsters. Half-Bloods. _It was like trying to get back deleted files, they were gone but the imprint was there. And it was tearing her brain in half.

She stumbled, and Coach Hedge steadied her. "Woah, there, cupcake. You say you got no memories, huh? Fine. I'll just have to watch you, too, until the team gets here. We'll let the director figure things out."

"What director?" Reyna sounded like she was begging. "What camp?"

"Don't worry, reinforcements should be here soon. Hopefully nothing happens before-"

Lighting crackled overhead and Reyna wanted to throttle him because what _idiot_ says something like that.

As if to prove her point, the wind picked up with a vengeance, snatching papers from their hands and swirling them high overhead. The entire bridge shuddered and kids were screaming.

"I had to say something." Hedge grumbled. _Yes, yes, you did. _"Everyone inside! The cow says moo! Off the sidewalk!"

"I thought you said this thing was stable!" Reyna shouted against the wind.

"Under normal circumstances," Hedge agreed, "which these aren't. Come on!"

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>: I've always wondered what the Hero of Olympus series would be like if Reyna and Annabeth had been switched instead of Percy and Jason- things would certainly be different. No, I'm definitely not doing the entire set of books, but select few chapters that interest me or maybe even my own stories. If this gets popular enough, I'll certainly take requests for chapters.

In the beginning I think the chapters will be fairly similar to the original but as time progresses conversations will change and this will highly differ from canon. But until then, I'm not straying too far from the plot line just yet.

Up next: The Lost Hero: Reyna II

Any thoughts or suggestions?


	2. TLH: Reyna II

**The Lost Hero: Reyna II**

The thunderstorm churned into a miniature hurricane. Funnel clouds snaked toward the skywalk like the tendrils of a monster jellyfish.

The kids were scrambling towards the doors, screeching and stumbling dangerously towards the edges of the railings with each harsh blow of the wind. Notebooks, jackets, hats, and backpacks were sucked into the vacuum above, disappearing into the dark clouds not to be seen again. Reyna skidded across the slick floor.

Leo lost his balance and almost tumbled straight over the railing and into the canyon, but Reyna caught the back of his shirt and hauled him back to his feet.

"Thanks!" Leo yelled.

"Go, go, go!" Coach Hedge was flapping his arms like a deranged windmill, frantically motioning at the doors.

Piper and Dylan were holding them open, herding the other kids inside. Piper's snowboarding jacket was flapping wildly, her dark hair flying in the wind, yet her face was stoic, her stance firm and unwavering, as she reassured the others that everything would be okay. Reyna couldn't help but admire her for her bravery.

Reyna, Leo, and Coach Hedge ran toward them, but with the wind fighting them it was like running through molasses.

Only one more kid made it through before the handles slipped from their grips and the doors slammed shut, closing the three off from the inside. Piper tugged at the handles while the kids pound their fists against the glass, but the doors seemed to be stuck.

"Dylan, help!" Piper shouted.

But Dylan stood there and the idiotic grin on his face sent a shiver down Reyna's spine. He didn't seem worried, in fact, it was like the storm was energizing him. His hair was whipping around his face in an chaotic swirl and his blinding white smile couldn't be described as anything but exhilarated.

"Sorry, Piper," He said, not sounding sorry in the least. "I'm done helping."

He flicked his wrist, and Piper went flying. She slammed into the doors with a sickening thud and went sliding onto the skywalk. She didn't stand back up.

"Piper!" Reyna went to rush forward, but both the wind and Coach Hedge held her back.

"Coach," Reyna growled. "Let me go, now!"

"Reyna, Leo, stay behind me," the coach ordered. It was different from all the other commands she heard from him- it wasn't the tone of an exasperated gym teacher on his last straw. No, this was the tone of a leader, a _warrior_. "This is my fight. I should've known that was our monster."

"What?" Leo demanded. A stray worksheet slapped him in the face, but he swatted it away. "What monster?"

The coach's cap blew off, and pointing through the mess of auburn curls were two large bumps as if he had been spending his free time whacking himself with his baseball bat. But suddenly the baseball bat wasn't a baseball bat- it had somehow changed into a knobby tree-branch club with the twigs and leaves still attached.

And for some unfathomable reason, none of this seemed surprising to Reyna -it felt weirdly right, more natural somehow.

Dylan flashed his psycho happy smile. "Oh, come one, _Coach_. Let the girl attack me! After all, you're getting too old for this. Isn't that why they retired you to this stupid school? I've been on your team the entire season, and you didn't even know. You're losing your nose, grandpa."

The Coach let out an indignant sound like a bleating animal. "That's it, cupcake. You're going down."

"You think you can protect three half-bloods at once, old man?" Dylan laughed, his hands rising towards the sky, palms facing upward in an almost reverent movement. "Good Luck."

Dylan then flicked a finger at Leo, and a funnel cloud materialized around him. Leo flew off the skywalk like a bullet from a gun, twisting and tumbling in midair, before slamming into the side of the canyon wall. Reyna cried out.

Leo skidded down the face of the canyon, his fingers clawing for any handhold. Finally, he manage to grab hold to a thin ledge fifty feet below the sidewalk, swaying just by the tips of his fingers.

"Help!" He yelled up at them. "Rope, please? Bungee cord? Something?"

A low oath slipped through Coach Hedge's lips as he tossed his club to Reyna. "I don't know who you are, kid, but I hope you're good. Keep that thing busy" -He jabbed at thumb towards Dylan- "while I get Leo."

"Get him how?" Reyna demanded. "You can't fly, can you?"

"Not fly. Climb." Hedge kicked off his shoes, and after everything that had happened today, Reyna was not the least bit shocked to find hooves where his feet should have been. The word she had been searching for popped into her head.

"Hooves. Horns. You're a faun."

"Satyr!" Hedge bleated. "Fauns are Roman. But we'll talk about that later."

_Roman. _The word produced a strong emotion in her, but she didn't have anytime to concentrate on it because Hedge was leaping over the side of the railing. He didn't plummet to his death, as she expected, but instead soared to the Canyon wall, catching a barely existent ledge with his hooves. He dodged whirlwinds that tried to attack him all while he climbed the side of the cliff with stunning swiftness and dexterity, finding footholds no bigger than quarters.

"Isn't that cute!" Dylan smirked and turned toward Reyna. "Now it's your turn."

Reyna knew she only had a few seconds… but that was all she needed. Her sharp eyes took in her surroundings with a stunning clarity, her mind focused and stance strong. This setting was not to her side - hundreds of feet above the ground with billowing winds that were strong enough to push her over the edge was certainly not ideal, and Dylan could most definitely overpower her in a moments notice in this environment.

No. She needed to get inside the museum- her odds were safest there. Not to mention all of the displays that were to her benefit. How many spears, axes, and daggers had she passed on their way to the skywalk? Enough to give her a fighting chance.

But Piper came back to mind. Reyna couldn't leave her out here, not with the odds of being splattered into the side of the canyon like a gruesome piece of art.

Reyna appraised the flimsy club in her hands, and then made her move.

She drew it back like a spear, balancing the unevenly weighted stick within her right hand, taking quick note of the wind and the direction it was blowing at the specific moment, then snapped her hand forward.

The club hit it's mark- slapping into Dylan's face with a loud smack then spiraling off over the edge of the skywalk as the wind caught it and disappearing far bellow them.

"Nice try," Dylan spat. "But you'll have to- what the-"

Reyna's leg swung out as she dashed passed him, his knee giving out at the unexpected blow and sending him sprawling face down on the glass. The club had done exactly as she had intended- distract him.

Piper wasn't as dazed as she appeared when Reyna hauled her to her feet. The girl was up and running right next to her, matching her pace.

"That was brilliant!" Piper screamed over the wind, locks of dark hair slapping her in the face.

Reyna grinned. "Don't mention it!"

Things went wrong quickly. They made it to the doors, but Reyna hadn't calculated how she was going to open them- they swung outward from the museum and the wind was more than enough to cement them shut.

"What do we do now?" Piper yelled.

"I don't know! I didn't expect to get this far!"

The skywalk shuddered, hairline fractures appearing in the glass. Inside the museum the kids stopped banging on the doors. Now they backed away, their eyes wide with terror.

Piper gripped the metal handle like a lifeline "What do we do now?"

"You die!" Dylan was up on his feet again- but it wasn't exactly Dylan. He had the same face, the same maniacal white smile, but his body had disappeared. Instead, his entire form was composed of swirling black vapor, his eyes like lightning in a living storm cloud. Black smoke wings sprouted from his back and he rose above the skywalk. Reyna was reminded of a demonic angel, if such a thing were possible.

"_Ventus._" The word sprang from Reyna's mouth, familiar and foreign at the same time. "That's what you are. A storm spirit."

Piper looked at her as if she had lost her mind.

Dylan's laugh echoed through the canyon, above the wind and above the storm, loud and pounding into her head. "I'm glad I waited, demigod. Leo and Piper I've known about for weeks. Could've killed them at any time. But my mistress said a third was coming- someone special. She'll reward me greatly for your death!"

Another set of funnel clouds touched down either side of Dylan and turned into venti - two ghostly young me with smoky wings and eyes that flickered with lightning, the same as Dylan.

The wind was stronger than ever, Reyna's long braid flying out like a strange skinny flag.

Dylan raised his hands, arcs of electricity sparking between his fingers and Reyna's body knew what the movement meant the second before her mind did.

"Duck!" She screeched, yanking Piper down to the glass floor just as an arc of electricity blasted right where they had been standing, a shower of glass rained down on them and the girls lifted their hands to cover their faces.

The doors were empty frames, the metal scorched and blackened, shattered glass circling them. The hairline fractures in the skywalk were now large cracks, thick and dangerous, the floor rumbled uncertainly beneath them.

Reyna's eyes widened. "We have to get off this-"

And the skywalk shattered.

Reyna's scream was cut off as her bodied jerked, her eyes going black with the sudden vertigo. The moment passed and Reyna's vision cleared.

Piper's right hand was locked around her wrist in a vice grip, her other hand latched onto the metal frame of the doorway. The thin juncture of the metal pressed unforgivingly into Piper's hand, and a beetle of blood ran down her arm before meeting her sleeve in a dark stain of red.

Reyna made the mistake of looking down.

Her feet dangled hundreds of feet above the canyon, the sharp edges of the rocks never looking pointier. Her left sneaker slipped from her foot, and plummeted to oblivion.

The storm spirits laughed as the wind raged around them.

Reyna yelled. "Piper! I have an idea!"

"Can you hold that thought?!" Piper spit through clenched teeth, her arms trembling. "I'm a bit busy right now!"

"You have to swing me!"

"What!?"

"Swing me! Just do it!"

"I can't!"

"You can!" And Reyna did something she couldn't explain, a spot on her arm burned and it felt like a part of her drained away from her body, straight out of her hand and into Piper's. Piper stiffened, but then her grip strengthened and her kaleidoscope eyes were alight with a newfound confidence.

Piper let out a yell of exertion, and swung her arm back. It was weak, but it gave Reyna just enough momentum. On the arc of the swing, Reyna's free hand shot out and managed to grip the frame of the door. Before the burst of strength could die, she continued up onto the platform of the museum, her arms burning and hands stinging.

She grappled for Piper, hauling her over the edge after her. The girls collapsed and out of the corner of her eye she could see Coach Hedge, Leo clinging to his back, climbing their way out of the canyon. Her moment of relief of was short lived.

"Well?" Dylan snarled, glared at his comrades and yelled, "Kill them!"

A crackle of energy met her ears, and Reyna rolled out of the way just as another blast of lightning struck the floor where she had laid.

She stumbled to her feet and appraised her new surroundings. Her eyes narrowed and she dashed over to the exhibit on the left. She ignored the pain as she slammed her elbow into the glass, the shards shattering to the floor and grabbed the array of daggers from the mannequins fingers.

She reeled her arm back and flicked a dagger at the nearest storm spirit. The blade cut straight through his forehead and the spirit let out a dying shriek before exploding into gold powder.

Without missing a beat, she swiveled on her heal and let another dagger fly at the second spirit. The spirit met the same fate as his brother, dissolving into the identical fine sand. Two clean kills - Reyna couldn't keep the smirk from her lips.

Dylan wailed in outrage as the gold remains were dispersed around them in a gust of wind. "Impossible! Who _are_ you, half-blood?"

Piper's mouth was agape. "Reyna, how did you…?"

With his impeccable timing, Coach Hedge burst through the main entrance doors of the museum, lugging Leo behind him like a sack of potatoes. Reyna surmised they had circled around to the front of the building.

The other students parted for the two, backing away as if they were a deadly plague.

"Spirits, fear me!" Hedge bellowed, then came to a halt as he realized that Dylan was the only remaining opponent.

"Curse it!" Hedge snapped at Reyna. "Didn't you leave some for me? I like a challenge!"

Leo stumbled to his feet, pale as a ghost and breathing hard. Blood dripped from his fingers and his nails were gone, only irritated splotches of red in it's place from clawing at the rocks. He looked utterly and completely humiliated. "Yo, Coach Supergoat, whatever you are- I just fell down the freaking Grand Canyon! Stop asking for challenges!"

Dylan hissed like a snake, but Reyna could detect his fear from a mile away. His fear of her. "You have no idea how many enemies you've awakened, half-bloods. My mistress will destroy all demigods. This war you cannot win."

Above them, the storm exploded in a climax of lightning and thunder, rain pounding on the roof of the museum. Through the broken doors to the skywalk, Reyna could see the clouds parting, a swirling vortex of black and silver reaching down to them.

"The mistress calls me back!" Dylan shouted with glee, his white teeth flashing. His gaze focused on Reyna. "And you, demigod, will come with me!"

Dylan barely made it two paces before the rest of her daggers were embedded deep with in his torso. The enraged spirit let out a howl of pain, a torrent of wind knocking them back like a shockwave. Piper skidded back into Reyna, where they went flying into Coach Hedge and Leo. The other kids tangled with each other.

Dylan turned to leave, his wings raising, but Coach Hedge was back on his hooves and leaping onto the spirits back faster than Reyna could comprehend.

"I got this!" He shouted and then the satyr and storm spirit spiraled into the clouds and disappeared.

* * *

><p>The rain had stopped, the sky was grey and the dark clouds still loomed overhead but looked nowhere near dangerous as before. Leo, Reyna, and Piper sat outside of the museum, battered and weak on the stone steps that lead to the entrance way. The other kids were still milling around inside, shuffling by with looks of horror. The security guards had taken over, working on the locks but not seeming to have much luck.<p>

Piper and Leo were still in a state of shock, Piper muttering to herself and Leo very still and very silent. Reyna wasn't sure if this should amuse her or worry her.

Leo was the first to break the silence. "What happened? The tornado guy, you with the daggers… I hit my head. That's it, right? I'm hallucinating?"

Reyna shook her head mutely, tumbling a small rock between her fingers.

Piper shivered. "Reyna, those things-"

"Venti," she murmured. "Storm spirits."

"Okay. You acted like… like you'd seen them before. Who are you?"

Reyna laughed once without humor. "That's what I've been trying to tell you. I don't know." She remember what the coach had told her. "Coach Hedge said he had to protect three people. I think he meant us. No. I'm positive, he was referring to us."

"And that thing Dylan turned into.." Piper shivered. "God, I can't believe it was hitting on me. He called us… what, demigods?"

Leo laid back, staring up at the sky, looking completely done with the world. "Don't know what demi means. But i'm not feeling to godly. You guys feeling godly?"

Reyna's brow furrowed. "Demi means-"

"Ohhh-kay," Leo interrupted, pointing at the sky. "Look up there and tell me if those are flying horses."

At first, Reyna thought Leo had hit his head too hard. Then she saw what he was talking about- a dark shape was descending from the east, too slow and small for a plane, too large and fast for a bird. As it got closer she could see a pair of winged animals. The word Pegasus came to mind- then she saw what they were pulling. A vibrantly painted box with two large wheels. A chariot.

Reyna stood up. "The reinforcements Hedge was talking about. The extraction squad."

"Extraction squad?" Leo struggled to his feet. "That sounds painful."

Piper wavered. "And where are they extracting us to?"

Reyna watched the chariot as it landed on the dirt road before them, the flying horses tucking their wings in as they slowed their momentum, a dust cloud spurting out behind them. Two teenagers stood in the chariot. -A tall guy with an athletic build, his onyx hair shifting wildly in the wind. He was maybe a little older than Reyna, around fifteen or sixteen.

The other dude had a shaved head and a face like a pile of bricks. He was built like a mountain with bulging muscles and a stony demeanor. They both wore matching orange t-shirts and jeans but only the bulky dude had a shield strapped to his back. The tall guy leaped off the chariot before it had even touched the ground. The height could have definitely broken some bones, _should_ have broken some bones, but to Reyna's immense surprise he merely brushed the landing off with a smooth barrel roll as if falling from great heights was an everyday thing. He then brandished a sword she hadn't notice until that moment and dashed towards her group.

"Where is she?" The guy demanded. His green eyes were intense- like the brutality of a hurricane, swirling and startling. But Reyna refused to let herself be intimidated.

"Where's who?" She spoke evenly and Leo glared at her like, _Do you have a death wish?_

His brow furrowed and he ran an angry hand through his hair, musing it into dark billowing waves. "Have you seen her? A girl with blonde hair?"

Reyna shook her head.

His scowl deepened and he turned to Leo and Piper. "And your protector? Gleeson Hedge?"

Leo cleared his throat and averted his eyes to the ground. "He got taken by some… tornado things."

"Venti." Reyna corrected. "Storm spirits."

The guy looked lost at her words, as if the name confused him somehow. "I don't know what Venus has to do with this… but storm spirits are known as anemoi thuellai. I don't know what you're going on about."

Reyna's eyes narrowed at his tone - he thought she was making it up, that she had no idea what she was talking about. He was writing her off.

He sighed. "Just tell me what's happened."

And Reyna explained everything to the fullest detail, Piper and Leo filling in the rare blanks she had. The other guy from the chariot came halfway through the story, crossed his arms, and glared at the three of them as if the mere sight was offending. He had a tattoo of a rainbow on his biceps, which Reyna thought was a little odd.

When Reyna finished, the black-haired guy only seemed angrier. "That lying- She told me she would be here. That if I came here, I would find my answer."

"Percy," The bald guy grunted. "Check it out." He pointed at Reyna's feet.

Her left shoe was still missing, something she had forgotten about until that very moment. It was probably at the bottom of that ravine, long gone and destined to never be found again.

"The girl with one shoe," said the bald guy. "She's the answer."

"No, Butch," Percy scowled. "I was tricked." He glared at the sky as though it had done something wrong. "What did you do with her?" He yelled, jabbing his sword at the clouds as if he could fight the offender right there. "If anything happens to her… you'll pay…I should have known better than to trust-"

"Percy." Butch clamped a hand on his shoulder. "This isn't the time. We gotta leave. Let's get these three to camp and figure it out there. Those storm spirits might comeback."

Percy's fists tightened, but he lowered his weapon.. "Fine." He sent a resentful glare to Reyna's group. "You three come with us."

He then turned on his heel and stalked off to the chariot.

Piper shook her head. "What's his problem? What's going on?"

"Seriously." Leo agreed.

"We have to get out of here," Butch said. "I'll explain on the way."

"I'm not going anywhere with him." Leo gestured at Percy. "He looks like he wants to kill us."

Butch hesitated. "Percy's okay. You gotta cut him some slack. He had a vision telling him to come here, to find a girl with one shoe. That was supposed to be the answer to his problem."

"What problem?" Piper asked.

"He's been looking for one of our campers, who's been missing three days," Butch said. "He's loosing it and he thought she'd be here."

Reyna raised an eyebrow. "Who?"

"His girlfriend." Butch murmured. "A girl named Annabeth Chase."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's note<strong>: I think that Reyna would have been more quick to adapt in the book than Jason did. She would definitely have to rely on her wits to keep her alive in the battle with Dylan as she couldn't just fly her way out of danger.

I also imagine Percy would be out for blood if he ever found Annabeth missing. He has slightly more anger than distress while Annabeth has slightly more distress than anger. And we all know how he gets when he is angry.

Awesomesaucealli - I really liked the title suggestion. I never intended to keep this title anyway and I really like 'The Lost Praetor.' I'd love to hear if you or anyone else have any more title suggestions.

Up next: The Lost Hero: Piper III

Any thoughts?


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